ABG

I think the Pen is the better bet..... but Virtuoso has confirmed upgrades at Shangri-La until 31 Aug 2013

RichardInSF

Deluxe is pretty much the lowest level room at the Pen as they have only 2 superior rooms per floor and the only difference is a little extra space in the entryway. But it's a very nice room. I haven't seen rooms at the Shangri-La but I think I'd still pick the Pen. It's easy to get to from Tokyo station, it's just a short taxi ride. It will take only a bit longer to get from Tokyo station exit to the Pen as it takes to get from the Narita Express tracks to the station exit!

BENLEE

Having stayed at both, I would say both are great hotels depend on what you like more and both are among the best in Tokyo.

For Pen I will rate it higher for

* Location - how can you get any better than being right at the heart of Ginza? Tons of shops and restaurants within walking distance. Subway right at the basement of the hotel.

* Room amenities - lots of bells and whistles and all the modern high-tech stuff

* Room Spaciousness - huge with separate walk in closets even for basic rooms. All equipped with ensuite bathrooms. Even basic rooms feels like Junior suites.

* Pool, Gym and Spa - more complete and well equipped.


For Shangri-la, I will rate it higher for

* Views, panoramic Tokyo skylines. A sight to behold, especially at night.

* F&B - Excellent breakfast. Mix of buffet + ala carte style. The Teppanyaki at Nadaman is to die for. ^

* Service - slight edge over Pen in terms of overall efficiency, speed, English ability.

* Comfort factor - The BED! - The Shangri-la Tokyo has the best, not one of the best, but THE BEST Bed I have ever slept in at any hotel or resort, bar none. And I have stayed at a lot.


All things considered, I will give the edge to Shangri-la as the overall better hotel. But you really can't go wrong with either one.

MikeFromTokyo

I would take advantage of this and book an upgraded Premier room at S-L, as these are lovely corner rooms and very spacious.

If the choice is between a deluxe room FHR booking at either hotel, I would choose the Peninsula.

Although The Peninsula is best overall, the OP will not go wrong with either hotel.

aa4ever

Thanks for the feedback, everyone! Sounds like there are better and worse things about both, but that room is better at Pen, breakfast at SL, views and maybe service at SL, fitness stuff at Pen. Hard decision. I'm going to think about it for a bit, and I'll let you know what I end up going with.

TravellingBeard

I am fortunate enough to have won a free trip to Japan in November, and with the money I'm saving not paying for a flight, I'm looking to stay a nice hotel there. I was looking at the Peninsula, a good compromise of luxury that won't break the bank and was willing to go up as high as the deluxe corner king. Are the differences between the various levels up to deluxe corner king noticeable (except for the much large space of the corner room)? Basically, are the views worth the upgrade?

blueline7

I found that there was no significant difference in the "park view" from the other view, such that imho if those were the two choices, then i would forego the park view and save a bit of money. In fact, I kept looking for the "park" out my window, and never really found it..

RichardInSF

Superior and deluxe are virtually the same except for some additional space in the entryway area.

Going to move this thread to a relevant recent thread that discusses the Pen and the Shangri-La.

RichardInSF, moderator, luxury hotels

MikeFromTokyo

The corner rooms are not really much more spacious. A long entry corridor adds a few square meters, but this is not really functional living space. One good thing is the addition of a window in the bathroom.

You might want to consider upgrade potential- booking one category below the Grand Deluxe rooms could result in a nice upgrade. These rooms are larger and are located between the deluxe suites at the front of the building.

If view is not a priority, booking even a superior or deluxe room would be fine if you would rather save the money. Upgrade from superior to deluxe is very likely.

The virtuoso offer for confirmed upgrades at S-L is also a good deal if you can get a confirmed Premier City View or Premier Bay View room.

The Premier rooms at MO are also a good choice.

rtlaw

I recently stayed at the Shangri-la as part of my "Around the World in 90 days" trip (see my blog: www.toscanoworldtrip.blogspot.com). As a matter of fact Shangri-la is one of my favorite hotel chains as the luxury is combined with real personal (not stuffy) service. If you book a corner room at the Shangri-la Tokyo, you will get a huge room (I had a view looking out over the bullet trains and the Imperial Palace gardens in the background). If you are able to have access to their lounge (the Horizons Club), the service and food offerings are great and the Concierge service second to none. The location is ultra convenient as you are right over the central station and you can enter the hotel from a subway exit right next door. Not only will they pick you up at the train platform, but when you wish to go somewhere, they will escort to the station, help you buy your ticket, buy a token for themselves to enter with you and make sure you get on the right train-unparallled. The indoor pool and hammam are nice and rarely very crowded as is the gym. As for being at the Peninsula Ginza, it is very easy to get to Ginza (or anywhere else in Tokyo) from the Shangri-la so I would opt for the Shangri-la.

RichardInSF

The Y130 access ticket at Tokyo station does not grant admission to the area of the station containing the shinkansen tracks, although the station personnel might informally allow it if it is an hotel employee in uniform. The ticket does allow access to local tracks as well as limited express tracks, like the Narita Express.

Four Seasons Maronouchi offers a similar service to the one described above for the Shangri-La.

I've never checked out rooms at the Shang Tokyo but my overall experience with the chain is that it is uneven. There are parts of some hotels that are at, or close to, luxury standards, and then there are other parts -- often in the exact same hotel -- that are well below luxury. The same is true for the service.

I don't think that's the case for the Peninsula chain. Maybe someone can correct me if I am wrong, but I believe they strive to keep all of their hotels at luxury level.

MikeFromTokyo

Shangri-la tokyo is one of the best properties in the chain (along with Paris) and should offer a more consistent level of service. In my opinion The Peninsula is currently the best in town. I consider the Shangri-la to be on par with Mandarin Oriental and FS Marunouchi.

grumbler

In my experience, Peninsula is the most consistent chain (I am not including Aman in this, because that is a different beast) in terms of high quality. MO and SL highly variable. Even FS experiences can vary wildly, though there are obviously many more of those properties than Pens.

mike_la_jolla

We are veering off topic. I agree that Pen is the most consistent across the planet. MO varies wildly and so does FS, but these chains are larger than Pen. Regarding Aman, I agree this is a whole different beast, but it is necessary to exclude China from consideration. All chains are having trouble in China, including Aman.

hailstorm

Are my Google skills failing me, or has there really been no discussion on this hotel in over five years?